Horrifying deaths for three women

Two partners arrested after killings

Stabbed, decapitated and shot.

This week, three families had to bury women who died violent deaths - two of them allegedly at the hands of their partners.

On Tuesday, Rose Bell, a 32-year-old mother of one, was shot and killed, allegedly by her boyfriend, Dayandran Govender, a metro policeman.

A dishevelled Govender, 42, appeared in the Durban Magistrate's Court on Friday, just hours before the funeral of Bell, his girlfriend of six years. His bail application was postponed after the state requested more time.

Govender's attorney, Sunil Singh, said the state was considering upgrading the charges against Govender from a schedule one to a schedule six offence "in light of evidence that has emerged".

A schedule six offence is considered to be premeditated murder.

Bell suffered one gunshot wound to the stomach. Govender said he had been grappling with her over his gun when the shot went off, killing her.

On Saturday, a Bryanston mother, Shareen Pillay, was found on the side of the road.

Pillay, 41, had been stabbed 50 times, allegedly by her husband, Yengesen Pillay. He was arrested three days later in a drunken state at a tavern in Pietermaritzburg.

Pillay, 42, was due to appear in the Randburg Magistrate's Court on Wednesday, but he attempted to commit suicide by taking an overdose of pills, said a police source.

He received medical treatment under police guard at the Northdale Hospital in Pietermaritzburg. Gauteng police spokesman Captain Tsekiso Mofokeng said Pillay was expected to make a formal bail application next week.

"Last Saturday at about 5pm, a woman and her child were driving past an office park in Peter Place, Bryanston, when the child noticed a woman lying slumped on the side of the road," said Mofokeng.

"The driver of the car alerted paramedics. The paramedics tried to resuscitate the woman, who appeared to have numerous stab wounds to her upper body. On arrival at the hospital, the woman succumbed to her injuries."

He said the police arrested her husband on Tuesday.

Pillay had checked into the Thistle Hotel in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday afternoon and checked out the next day.

Shareen, who moved to Johannesburg from Pietermaritzburg with her husband and two children many years ago, was an administration manager at Game. Her funeral was held at Bethel Ministries in Northdale, Pietermaritzburg, on Wednesday.

Yesterday in Chatsworth, Sivapurani Murugan was devastated when she said goodbye to her eldest daughter.

Desiree Murugan's half-naked torso was found in a field at the Shallcross Stadium on Monday. She had been decapitated.

Desiree's sister, Jennet, said their mother was struggling to come to terms with the fact that she had to bury her child without her head.

"My mother is not handling it very well. She cannot accept that my sister's head is missing.

"She just talks about my sister and then just cries all the time. When all this is over, we will have to take my mother in for counselling because she just isn't able to heal."

Desiree, a 39-year-old mother of one, was a drug addict and had turned to prostitution in an attempt to feed her habit.

Jennet said her sister's drug problem and how she supported it did not make her a bad or evil person.

"No one deserves to die like this. I would not wish that kind of death on anyone, not even the hardest criminal."

She said she was haunted by the thought of her sister's death.

"I keep thinking about how she must have screamed and begged them to spare her. It is so hard. But we have to be strong for our mother."

The family was given permission to hold Desiree's funeral ceremony in the street outside their home. The metro police assisted the family by cordoning off the street.

Jennet said the family's ordeal was made more difficult by the hoax messages that have been circulating after her sister's death.

"Things like Blackberry messages being sent saying men have been arrested or her head has been found have such a negative effect. [No one has been arrested and the head has not been found.]

"It's almost like it is a form of entertainment for people," she said.